Machine for making cementitious products



`A. 0. CROZIER. v MACHINE FOR MAKING CEMENTITIOUS PRODUCTS.

APPLICATION FILED )UNE 1. 1918.

' Panted Feb 5 SHEETS-SHIEET I.

A. o. cnozlm. MACHINE FOR MAKING CEMENTITIOUS PRODUCTS.

Pandllveb. 10,1920.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE l` i918.

5 SHEETS-sniff 2.

A. 0. CROZIER. y

MACHINE FOR MAKING CEMENIITIOUS PRODUCTS. APPLICATION FILED` JUNE I. IQIS.

Patented Feb.10,1920.

5 SHEETS-SHEEY 3.

we, 6' @Ho/cnaf) A. 0. CROZIER. MACHINE FOR MAKING CE-MEN'TITIOUS PRODUCTS.

` APPLICATION FILED IUNE I. 1918. 1 ,330, 1 72 "Patented Feb.' 10, 1920.

5 SHEETS-sneer' 4.

A. p. oRozlEn. MACHINE FOR MAKING CEMENTITIOUS PRODUCTS.

Arruvcmpn mso :UNE 1. 191s.y

0. 2 mi @fu 1H b es Fm .aw m5 m a D1 5 woe 14, fig/,o y A. 0. Crozzer affanni/J ffm ,Unir-iin sfrar ALFRED OVJEN CROZIER, OE? NEVV YORK, N. Y.

MACHINE FR MAKING CEMENTTOUS PRGDUCTS.

Application filed June i,

of co'ncrete brick, building blocks, and othei" and its object is to cen'ientitious products, u

1n `chine tor provide a. reliable and eilicient the purpose. Another object is to provide a reliable and eiiicient in achine for use Vin practising the inethod or process described in iny copending application Ser. No. 2x2/4,046, lilcd March 22nd, 1918. To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features oi' construction and combinan tions of elements hereinafter described.

One embodiment oi' the yinvention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which Figure complete machine, Fig. 3.

1 longitudinal section ot the about on line ll ot v -iig. 2 is a detail side view, partly in longitudinal section, of one end of. the link which actuates the toggle provided i'or raising and lowering the pallet or pallet-table- Fig. 8 is a plan view.

Fig. l is a detail horizontal section about on line 'si/fi of Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is a detail section abouton line 5--5 of Fig. 3. i

Figs.l G, 7 and 8 are detail views showing devices oi' different lengths provided for varying the throw of the pallet-raising toggle.

Fig. 9 is an end view. partly in cross seotion, from the right of Fig. 1.

,Figa 10 is an end vieiv troni Fig. 1..

v'Fig'. 1()a is a detail sectionall vieiv illustrating scheine tor varying .the thickness ofthe part which is severed from the cementitious colunin. v

Fig. V11 is a. plan view of the knives which sever the lower portion of the ceinentitious column-and subdivide the severed portion,

the lett of showing their coperationvvith the lower 'partv of the hollow lupright .shaft in which t.he"cenientitious column 1s formed.

-IFigQ is section'about on line 1Q-1Qo Fig. 11. v

Specification of Letters atent.

'mixture shall be -unwatered to be at least self-sustaining that prisoned in the rigid lower Patent-ea Fee. 10.1920.

Serial No. 29,73%.

Fig. '13 a section about on line 13413 of Fig. 11.

Fig. 14 is a section on 11, showing an approved the vertical subdividing knives mental severing knife.

Fig. 15 is a detail sectional plan. view of the forward orcutting edges oi the vertical knives.

ln the'apparatus illustrated, an upright hollow shaft 15, Figs. 1 and 9, is provided, into which is deposited the cenientitious mixture from which the bricks, blocks or other cementitious products are to be rnade. lPreiersfbly the mixture is oiia slushy consistency., that is, contains Water in excess oi the amount requiredfor complete hydration oi' the cenientitious ingredients. In general, it is intended that the products (hereinafter referred to as bricks, but it is te be understood that the invention is not limited to the production of bricks) made from the slushy suiiiciently compacted and line 1li-14 of Fig. mode of securing to the horiis, shall not haveto be conined or supported in molds, before setting `oi the mixture begine or. has proceeded to any material extent.

this purpose the shaft 15 is iilled to av height such that' the pressure due ,to the "weight of the superincuinbent mass will at least partially compact and urm'fatierl the lower portion (from which the bricks are out) to the extent desired. -n practice the oonipacting 'and umvatering oi'. the lower Y ortion oi' the coluinn is carried nearly to the extent required by the pressure mentioned, with the help, if desired, of other agencies which 'will be le'.\ipla ined hereino after. The, lower portion of thesolid or nontubular colnrnntsuch lower portion being' at least partially compacted and unwatered) is severed from tlie upper portion by means of a horizontal knife .16' which is passed 'into the shaft, andA the severed portion "is shaped into the productor products desired. 1n the machine illustrated the sha ying of the severed portion 'is a dividing 'di the same into individual bricks, preferably by means of vertical knives 17, Figs, ,9, 11, 12 and 13.

The lower portion of the column-being im# I part of the of the severed portion is ef- 'or some the i shaft, distortion l I iectnally prevented and theknives, ot them, 'being ot suitable thickness,

lio

knives can enter the column onl by compressing the material to a smal volume, thus further, and in general completing, the compacting (or densification) and unwatering of the product or products. The removable pallet 18, Fig. 1, which forms the bottom of the shaft, is now lowered and removed with the compacted, unwatered and self-sustaining bricks resting upon it, and a-fresh pallet is put in place. 4The knives are now completely withdrawn preferably quickly; thereby allowing the entire column to fall suddenly down upon the pallet". The column is thus subjected to an impact, which has a further densifying and unwatering effect. The steps described are then repeated, fresh concrete of the proper consistency being added to the upper part of the column to maintan the height of the latter.

With the above brief outline in mind the construction and operation of the specific machine illustrated will be readily understood.

The lower part 19 of the shaft 15 is preferably in the form of a heavy casting, rectangular in horizontal section, as in Fig.,4,

and preferably having. the inner surfaces of its front and rear walls substantially Vertical. The upper part may be made of sheet metal, and preferably has more or less taper upwardly to facilitate quickdescent of the column bodily after the horizontal severing knife 16 is withdrawn. Moreover, the column f'alls downwardly faster than it spreads laterally, especially thetapered portion, and hence there results a tendency to form spaces or cracks at the walls of the shaft, into which excess water is sucked, thereby aiding the desired unwatering of the mass and expelling such excess water upwardly. The lower part 19 lof shaft 15 is made in two parts or sections, divided horizontally and spaced apart as at 20, Fig. 9, to afford a passageway for the horizontal severing kn1fe'16. he upper section 19a is supported by means of wings or lugs 21 on frame 22, and the lower sectin 19b is rigidly secured on the lugs 23 on the sides of the frame. The front and rear walls of the lower section are provided with vertical slots, as 24, Fig. 11, the intermediate parts of these walls being supported by the necks or webs 25 integral with the outer portions of the walls. The vertical slots constitute passages for the vertical vknives 17 which divide and compact laterally the lower portion of the.column into bricks, preferably immediately after such portion has been severed from the remainder of the column.

The vertical knives 1l can if .desired be secured to the horizontal knife 18 in any convenient manner, as in the dovetail fashion shown in Fig. 14. The knives, both in the lower part of horizontal and vertical, are solidly attached' to the transvere carrier bar 26, which is actuated inharmony with the rest of the machine by means described hereinafter.

As stated above, the severing and dividing knives are made of substantial thickness,

so that in forcing their way into the cemen titious column they will aid in compacting or densifying the same. The bevel of the knife. edge, especially on the upper knife,

has an effect which may be important.-

If the bevel is effect will be divided correspondingly. For

instance, with the knife edge shown in Fig. 13 greater densifying effect will be exerted on the part (of the column) above the plane of the knife-passage 20, Fig. 9, than on the portion below it. On the vertical knives the bevels may be as shown in Fig. 15,- and the knives may be made successively longer from the outer knives inwardly. Insuch case the tendency is'to crowd the cementitious material laterally, to compensate for the omission of knives at the outer sides or faces of the outermost bricks.

Along its side edges the horizontalV knife 16, Figs. 1, 4 and 9, is provided with guide sleeves 27 fitted to slide on parallel longitudinal guide rails 28 firmly secured to the adjacent side members of the frame 22. The carrier bar 26 is reciprocated longitudinally of the machine by means of two connecting rods 29 (see also Fig. 3) connected' at their rear endsto crank plus on the* gears 30. The latter are driven by pinions 31, Fig. 10, on the ends of the transverse shaft 32, which is rotated by gear 33meshing with a pinion 34 on the main driving shaft 35. The latter shaft is itself driven bya ulley 36. The pinion 34 is loose on its sha t, but is connected thereto at propel'. intervals,as will be explained hereinafter, 'by a clutch`37 of any suitable character, actuated by a cam 38 on shaft 32 through the medium of rod 39 (Fig. 1) and arm 40. l

The pallets 1-8 for use underthe cementitious column are arranged inastack 41, Fig. 1, from the bottom of which they are fed out, one at a time, and carried to the shaft 15. For this purpose a horizontally reciprocatory pallet-sh1fter is provided, lin the form of'an open frame 42 (see also Fig. 3) which is actuated by links 43 connected to rocker arms 44 on the transverse rock shaft 44n (Fig. 1) rocked by a cam 45 on shaft 46,

through the medium of link 47 cooperating with said cam. Link 47 slides in guides 48 and is connected to one of the arms 44 by a second link 49. On the inside of the side members of the frame 42 are four pairs of weighted dogs 50, held by gravity against stops 51 which serve to limit their counterclockwise movement. The two pallets shown at 18a, 18h, Fig. l, rest at their ends on side rails 52, Figs. 3 and 5, and in front of lugs 53 which serve as stops to prevent rearward displacement or movement of the pallets when the dogs are retracted with the frame 42. When the frame is advanced l(toward the right in F ig. 1), the brick laden pallet 18, the ends of which ot 'erhang the table 54, is pushed along on its raifs 55 to the position shownA in dotted lines, pallet 18D is moved over upon thetable, pallet '18a is shifted to the position just vacated by pallet 18, and the rear pair of dogs push another pallet from the bottom of the stack and move it to theposition of pallet 18a. Vhen the frame or pallet shifter is retracted the d igs pass idly under the pallets to the initial position shown in Fig. l.

The table 54, Fig. 1, is fixed on top of two l vertical slides 56 working between guide rollers 57 and actuated by a toggle composed of members 58a, 58h. The latter members are mounted on a transverse shaft 59 and are rocked at proper intervals (as will be de scribed hereinafter) by a link 60, Figs. 1 and 3, connected at its rear to slide 61 which is reciprocated in guides 62 by a cam 83 on the end of shaft 46. When the toggle is straight it bears against the transverse frame-member 64, but the link has a yielding connection (see Fig; 2)- so that it can advance a little farther wit-hout injury to the parts, thus obviating the vnecessity of accurate adjustment, etc. T he wrist pin 65, Fig. 2, by which the link 60 isconnected to the arm e9 (Fig. 3) on the end of shaft 59 to rock the latter. is seated in a recess in the link and is heldI therein by the slide 66 which can be, withdrawn by means of the handle 67, thereby permitting link ti() to be lifted oil said pin.V

Shaft 46, which it will be remembered,

carries cams 45 and 63 which actuate thev pallet-shifter 42 and table 54, is rotated by a norm gear 68, Fig. 1, worm 69, vertical shaft 70, and bevel pinion 71 meshing with bevel pinion72 on driving shaft 35.

The operation' of the machine will now be readily understood. The. parts being in the positionsshown in Fig. 1, thepalletshifter 42 is' advancedy (toward the right) carrying the brick leidenA pallet 18 to the dotted-line positionand placing pallet 18.*.l

upon the table 54. The latter is now raised (by Vstraightening of the toggle .58L-8b), bringing the fresh pallet firmly against the bottom of the lower shaft-sectionf19b- Knife 16 is now fully retracted, from'the cementitious column, by the connecting rods 29, whereupon the column drops in the shaft 15 with a heavy jolt upon the pallet, and fills the said lower.shaft-section.. .Knife 16 is 70 now advanced into the passage between the two shaft sectionslQa, 19", and on through the column thusseverine the lower portion of the column, in said shaft-section 19D. Continuing, the vertical knives 1? enter the ver- 75 tical slots in section 19b and divide the severed portion of the column into individual bricks, after which the verticalknives are retracted, and the table 54 lowered, to the positions shown in Fig. 1. ln the meanso time the filled pallet (shown in dotted lines) has been removed and the pallet-shifter retracted, thus completing the cycle of the machine. v

Instead of providing several slots, one above the other, in the shaft to permit portions of different heights to be severed from the column, l employ a method which is more flexible, so to speak, in that it permits smaller variations of height to be made. For this purpose the vertical supports 73, Figs. 1 and 3, which carry the guide rollers 5'? and the supporting roller 74 for the pallet-shifter 42, and the vertical supports 75, Figs. 1 and 5, which carry the pallet $55 rails 52 and the roller 7G, are capable of vertical adjustment on the frame of the machine. The throw of the toggle is also varied by inserting in the upper member 58 spacing members of different lengths, such as shown at 77, 78, 79, Figs. G, 7 and 8 (see also Fig. 9), and by shifting the wrist-pin 65, Fig. 1, in the slot 8O in arm 59a, which rocks the shaft 59 and the lower togglemembers 58h. The hollow shaft 15 is lengthened 105 downwardly by removing the lower section 19b and substituting), another of the proper depth, the additional depth being obtained by eXtendingthe section below the plane of the supporting lugs 23. Fig. 9; or, prefer- 110 ably, an additional portion ofl proper thickness, as for example the part 19?, Fig. 10, is secured on the underside ofthe section 19h. vAnother horizontal severing knife, without vertical knives, is also substituted forl the one shown; or, if the block severed from the Vcolumn is to be divided into smaller blocks, a horizontal knife with the proper number of vertical knives of suitable height.

l'tlis to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific construction herein illustrated and described, but can he embodied in other forms without departure from its spirit as defined by the following claims: Y

I claim:

l. In a machine for the manufacture of cementitious products, in combination, a

' hollow shaft or container for an unset cem- 130 the knife and exert a compacting or densifying effect on the lower portion of the column, mechanism for advancing and retracting the knife, means for removing said bottom closure and yplacing another in position, and means for actuating said means and vmechanism in proper order.

2. In a machine for the manufacture of cementitious products, in combination, a hollow shaft or container for an unset cementitious column, a knife movable into and out of the column to sever -a portion therefrom while such portion is imprisoned whereby distortion of the same is prevented, means for actuating the vknife, and means for removingr the severed portion of the column.

3. In a machine for the manufacture of lcementitious products, in combination, a

hollow shaft or container for an unset cementitious column, a horizontal knife movable into and out of the column to sever a portion therefrom while the same is imprisoned,y one or more vertical knives ai'- ranged to divide the said portionof the column into parts after said portion is severed from the column while it is imprisoned, whereby distortion of the said portion and its parts` is prevented, and means for actuating the horizontal and vertical knives.

4. In a. machine for the manufacture of cementitious products, in combination, an upright hollow shaft or container for an unset cementitious column, a horizontal knife of substantial thickness movable into and out of the lower' portion of the column to exert a compacting` or densifying effect upon said lower portion and to sever from the column the part below the knife, one or more vertical knives movable into and out of the column to divide the portion thereof below the horizontal knife, and means for actuating the knives.

5. In a machine for the manufacture of cementitious products, in combination, an upright, hollow shaft or container for an unset cementitious column,'means for severing a portion of the column from one end thereof while such end is still imprisoned, means for dividing such portion into parts, and means for removing said parts. v

6. In a machine for the manufacture of cementitious products, in combination, an

upright'hollow shaft or container for an' unset cementitious column, a horizontal knife movable into and out of the column to sever a portion thereof, one or more ve'rtical knives connected to the horizontal -knife beneath the same and arranged to enter the column in rear of the cutting edge of the horizontal knife to divide the severed portion of the column into parts after such `portion Ahas been severed, and means for actuating the knives.

7. In a machine for the manufacture of cementitious products, in combination, a hollow shaft or container -for an unset cementitious column; means for severing'- and dividing a portion of the column while "such portion is still imprisoned to preventdistortion thereof, `comprising a knife movable into the column transversely thereof and one or more knives attached to the horizontal knife on one side of the same; and mechanism for actuating said means.

8. In a machine for lthe manufacture of shaft to sever a portion of the cementitious column therein, one or more vertical knives connected to the said bar and horizontal -knife and movable into and out of the shaft to divide the said portion in one or more vertical planes, and means for actuating the carrier bar. l

9. In a machine for the manufacture of cementitious products, in combination, an upright hollow shaft for an unset cementitions column, means for severing a portion of the column from the lower part thereof, and means permitting lengthening the part of the shaft below the path of the severing means, whereby portions of different heights may be severed from the column.

10. In a machine for the manufacture of cementitious products, in combination, an

upright hollow shaft or container for anl unset cementitious column, said shaftfhav-y ing a lower part; means movable into and out of the shaft between said lower part and the upper part to sever a portion of the column therein; a reniovable bottom for theloweijpart of the shaft; vertically movable, and vertically adjustable supporting means for said removable bottom; and horizontally movable and vertically adjustable means for erating upon\ such severed sections to shape ythe same into the' desired products,

and mechanism for actuating said knife and said shaping means in'proper order.

1 3. In a machine for the manufacture of cementitious products, in combination, an

upright hollow shaft or container for an unset cementitious column, a removable closure for the bottom of the shaft, a horizontal knife movable into and out` of the shaftto sever from the column the portion thereof between the knife and said closure, means forv shaping said portion of the column, mechanism for removing said closure with the shaped portion of the column thereon and positioning another closure thereunder, and power-driven means for actuating theJ knife, shaping means, and closure removing and positioning means in proper order.A

In testimony whereof I hereunto aiX my signature.

ALFRED OWEN oRoZiER. 

